Web TV device, Nexus 7 unveiled

Thursday

Jul 25, 2013 at 2:00 AMJul 25, 2013 at 11:15 AM

SAN FRANCISCO — Making a new move into Internet television, Google Inc. on Wednesday said it will start selling a $35 gadget that will plug into a high-definition TV and stream video from Netflix, YouTube and other sources.

By Brandon Bailey

SAN FRANCISCO — Making a new move into Internet television, Google Inc. on Wednesday said it will start selling a $35 gadget that will plug into a high-definition TV and stream video from Netflix, YouTube and other sources.

The 2-inch device, dubbed Chromecast, is aimed at replacing set-top boxes and can be controlled by Android and Apple smartphones or computers. Google said it will also stream music or even show Web pages from computers using the Google Chrome Web browser.

Analysts said the device could be a disruptive move by Google to compete with Apple and other tech companies that want to bring Internet services to the television set. Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps tweeted that it represents a "smaller, more elegant approach" compared with Google's previously halting efforts at similar products.

Google announced the device at an event where the Mountain View, Calif., search giant also showed off a new Nexus 7 mini-tablet with a high-definition screen that the company said is especially suited for high-speed gaming and video streaming.

Other announcements included an update to the Android Jelly Bean operating system and new tools for developers to build high-definition games for tablets. Google also announced it's expanding its online books business by selling college textbooks from some of the country's biggest publishers.

But the star of the event was the new Chromecast gadget, which looks something like a USB memory stick but packs far more capabilities. When plugged into a TV set, Google said the gadget will connect both to a home wireless router and to other devices such as smartphones, tablets or laptop computers. Anyone in range can then use their smartphone or computer as the "remote control" — to select a video from YouTube or Netflix, for example.

The Chromecast takes its cue from the selected device but then streams the video or other material directly from the Internet, through the home router, so the smartphone's battery doesn't drain, Google representatives said.

Google executive Sundar Pichai told reporters the gadget was inspired by the observation that, "It's very, very nice to show videos to your friends, but it's really difficult to do" on the small screen of a smartphone.